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Maybe you should have thought twice...

The_TimThe_Tim
edited July 2009 in Seattle Real Estate
Via the Seattle Times, Seattle blogger in pj's unites the unemployed:
There was a time in Seattle when being one of those young Microsoftie types was golden.

Robinson, 35, was one of them. She was making $79,500 a year as the consumer public-relations manager for Zune, the company's challenge to the ubiquitous iPod. She had bought a home in West Seattle. She didn't have to think twice about meeting up with friends at a restaurant.

But on March 23, Robinson lost her job for the usual "it's the economy" reason and now her income had dropped to a $611-a-week unemployment check. (She started the blog earlier because she knew two months in advance of her layoff.)
That home purchase would be $307,500 for a 900 square foot pad on a 3,700 square foot lot in September '06. Refinanced in early '08, but without going downtown to view the records in person I can't tell if it was a cash-out or not.

The whole mindset of "she didn't have to think twice" about throwing money around willy-nilly just because she had $80k coming in is a large part of what got us into this mess. Seriously, $341 / sqft for a West Seattle shack? How could you not think twice about that?

Similarly-sized home less than a mile away on the market today for $199,000.
(See correction below)

Comments

  • Civil ServantCivil Servant
    This article made me irate and embarrassed. I am sure, for instance, that especially someone with professional writing skills could find ample volunteer tutoring opportunities now that school is out. I'd also bet that there are some elderly people in or near the subject's neighborhood who would appreciate help with grocery shopping, yardwork, and car trips to medical appointments. But what does girlfriend do with her fairly well subsidized free time? She starts a hobby blog and builds up her self-esteem. The Seattle Times seems to be placing the subject and her plight on the Effect side of the economic situation, but to me it doesn't look that cut and dried. If you don't like your muffin top, for instance, don't boo-hoo online about having a muffin top -- get out and get some exercise.

    I wonder if it was the subject who pitched the article, too. Her background is in PR, and 100ish hits per day on a blog does not typically represent the newsworthy vanguard of a movement.
  • deejayohdeejayoh
    commuting from West Seattle to Microsoft Millenium campus? You can't get much worse than that. Tells me something about the amount of common sense applied to everyday decisions...

    Bing maps says 25 minutes. Maybe at midnight
  • The_TimThe_Tim
    deejayoh wrote:
    commuting from West Seattle to Microsoft Millenium campus? You can't get much worse than that. Tells me something about the amount of common sense applied to everyday decisions...

    Bing maps says 25 minutes. Maybe at midnight
    No doubt. I can't even begin to comprehend the line of thinking that would lead to the notion that buying a 900 sqft home for $307,500 in that location would be a good idea for someone working at MS Millenium.

    P.S. (Google Maps > Bing Maps :P )
  • jonjon
    For some reason there are two listings for that $199K property.
    The other is $575K.

    http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/3326-S ... s-29043009
  • The_TimThe_Tim
    jon wrote:
    For some reason there are two listings for that $199K property.
    The other is $575K.
    $199k is the home on a 3,860 sqft lot. $575k is that plus an additional 4,928 square feet, in an attempt to market the property to builders. From the larger listing:
    Outstanding opportunity to build eight 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath townhomes with garages in one of Seattle's fastest growing neighborhoods!
    You know, because what West Seattle needs is more crappy townhomes.
  • ira sira s
    That 199,000 dollar house is not in West Seattle at all, it's South Hinds Street, not Southwest Hinds. It's Rainier Valley, and yeah, the Rainier Valley needs more ugly townhomes like it needs a hole in the head...
    But Google maps has erred here.
  • The_TimThe_Tim
    Huh. Looks like it's not so much an error with Google Maps as it is a problem with the address not being accurate to begin with. The only parcels on S Hinds St. in the vicinity of 33rd Ave. don't match that property's description at all.

    Oh well. Current comps aside, point still stands that buying a 900sqft shack for over $300k made no sense for someone working at MS in Redmond.

    Update: Found it. Looks like the actual address is 2704 S Hinds St., 98144 (vs. 3326 S Hinds in the listing). Also I find it amusing that the current owner is a builder that bought the two parcels for $540k a year ago and they're trying to flip them now for $575k. I guess nobody told them that the days of making $35k profit for sitting on a property for a year are long gone.
  • ira sira s
    Yup, even on the listing agent's website the address is wrong.
    That should make it real easy to sell.
  • WestSideBillyWestSideBilly
    I was really struggling to figure out what light rail line was just steps away from Admiral ave in West Seattle... :)
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